Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a public university in Oregon with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland. It was formed in 1974 as the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center, combining state dentistry, medicine, and nursing programs into a single center.

Over the next forty years, the school diversified its educational offerings to include nursing and dental programs,[3] and expanded with facilities built during this time on Marquam Hill, including the Multnomah County Hospital, the Doernbecher Memorial Hospital for Children, and an outpatient clinic.

In 1955, Oregon state Senator Mark Hatfield co-sponsored a bill to transform the medical school into a teaching hospital, and in 1974 the State of Oregon merged the institutions located on Marquam Hill into the University Hospital independent of the University of Oregon. His continued support of medical research in Oregon in general and the hospital in particular was recognized by the institution in 1998 with the dedication of the Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center and the creation of the Hatfield information wall on permanent display in the lobby of the main hospital.[4] In 2008, Governor Kulongoski released an executive order designating the Mark O. Hatfield Chair of the OHSU Board of Directors to commemorate Hatfield's commitment to the institution.[5]

In 2001, OHSU purchased property in what is now known as the South Waterfront neighborhood with intentions to expand its facilities there. After the purchase, OHSU began developing plans with the Portland Office of Transportation to connect this location to its Marquam Hill facilities by way of an aerial tram. Before construction of the tram began in 2005, the project was criticized by residents in the neighborhoods located directly below the projected tram route who believed its construction would result in an invasion of privacy and lower property values. The group No Tram to OHSU argued that OHSU had not sufficiently justified the benefits of the tram, that the tram would not alleviate traffic congestion on Marquam Hill as OHSU claimed, and that the project inappropriately made use of public right of way for private purposes.[8] During the construction phase, the project came under additional public scrutiny amid rising construction and operation costs.[9]

In 2006, the animal rights group PETA brought attention to OHSU research involving sheep.[10] The research, which is being conducted in conjunction with Oregon State University is designed to understand the biological mechanisms involved in sexual partner preference.[11] These experiments were being funded through public grants through the year 2008.

A third hospital, the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center[12] is located next to the main OHSU campus; this hospital is run by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and is outside the auspices of OHSU. A 1992 pedestrian bridge connecting OHSU Hospital and the VA Medical Center is the longest suspended pedestrian skybridge in North America, with a length of 660 feet (200 m).[13]

With the Marquam Hill campus running out of room for expansion, beginning in 2003 OHSU announced plans to expand into the South Waterfront District, formerly known as the North Macadam District. The expansion area is along the Willamette River in the South Portland neighborhood to the east of Marquam Hill and south of the city center. The Center for Health & Healing earned LEED Platinum certification in February 2007, becoming the largest health care center in the U.S. to achieve that status. As part of the continued expansion of the South Waterfront, on June 26, 2014, OHSU opened the Collaborative Life Sciences Building (CLSB). The building cost $295 million to construct,[14] and houses Portland State University classes and Oregon State University's Doctor of Pharmacy program.[15] As existing surface streets were deemed insufficient to connect the South Waterfront campus to the Marquam Hill campus, the Portland Aerial Tram was built as the primary link between them and opened December 1, 2006. Controversy surrounded the costs of the tram,[16] which nearly quadrupled from initial estimates. Construction of the tram was funded largely by OHSU ($40 million, 70%), with contributions from the city of Portland ($8.5 million, 15%) and developers and landowners in the South Portland neighborhood.[17]

The OHSU School of Medicine has a faculty of approximately 1,750 and confers a variety of degrees, including Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Science, Master of Physician Assistant Studies, and Master of Public Health.[19] In 2014, the US News and World Report ranked OHSU 3rd overall in Primary Care Rankings and 29th in Research Rankings. In addition, the publication ranked the school 2nd in Family Medicine and 5th in Rural Medicine specialties.[20] As the only MD conferring program, and one of only two medical schools in Oregon, OHSU is committed to meeting the health care needs of the state with typically 70% of the students from in-state. Admissions is highly competitive, with the school receiving over 4,500 applications and interviewing approximately 550 applicants for 115 seats. The average GPA of the entering class is 3.63 with a median MCAT score of 31.[21] Its Physician Assistant program was most recently ranked 6th by U.S. News & World Report.[22]

The School of Nursing at OHSU offers nursing programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. The graduate nursing program was most recently ranked 7th overall in the nation by the US News and World Report and 5th in the gerontology/geriatric specialty.[23]

OHSU's School of Dentistry was merged into the university in 1945.[24] Accredited through the Commission on Dental Accreditation, the school has departments in endodontics, orthodontics, pathology and radiology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, periodontics, and pediatric dentistry, among others. The D.M.D. program admits 75 students each year. In 2014, the School of Dentistry program moved to the Collaborative Life Sciences Building on Portland's South Waterfront along with the School of Medicine.[25]